Judge Not, Ask and Receive, and the Two Foundations

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1. Observe

   In Jesus' parable of the two builders, what single factor distinguishes the wise builder from the foolish one?

   • The quality of materials used — stone versus wood
   • The location chosen — high ground versus low ground
   • Whether the builder heard Jesus' words and did them, or heard them and did not do them
   • The amount of time spent in planning before beginning construction

2. Observe

   According to verses 21-23, what will Jesus say to those who prophesied, cast out demons, and did mighty works in his name but are not known by him?

   • "Well done, good and faithful servant"
   • "You are the least in the Kingdom of Heaven"
   • "Depart from me, you who work iniquity — I never knew you"
   • "Return and produce fruit worthy of repentance"

3. Interpret

   When Jesus commands "don't judge, so that you won't be judged," is he forbidding all moral discernment? How does the context of the speck and the log clarify what he means?

   • Yes, Jesus is forbidding any form of moral evaluation of others' behavior because only God can judge
   • No, Jesus is forbidding all criticism of others but allowing self-examination as a private discipline
   • No, Jesus is forbidding hypocritical judgment — the log in one's own eye must be addressed first. Once a person has honestly confronted their own sin, they can "see clearly" to help a brother — the passage assumes correction is possible and appropriate, but it must come from humble self-awareness rather than self-righteous superiority
   • No, Jesus is forbidding judgment of strangers but permitting evaluation of close friends and family

4. Interpret

   What does Jesus mean by the promise "ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened" — and how does the Father-son illustration clarify the kind of answer promised?

   • That God will give believers exactly what they request in prayer, no matter what they ask for, because refusal would prove he is not a good father
   • That persistent repetition of the same prayer eventually wears down God's reluctance to answer
   • That the Father's response to his children's persistent, trusting prayer is always characterized by goodness — just as a human father gives bread rather than a stone, God gives what is genuinely good, which may not always be the precise thing requested but will never be harmful
   • That prayer is primarily a discipline of the will and the content of the request matters less than the sincerity with which it is offered

5. Apply

   Jesus says false prophets can be recognized by their fruits, not their charisma or claimed authority. How does this principle apply to evaluating the teachers, leaders, and voices you regularly listen to?

   • It means you should avoid following any religious teacher who has not been formally ordained by an established church institution
   • It means the emotional power of someone's preaching is the best indicator of the Holy Spirit's approval
   • It requires looking past impressive gifts, confident claims, or large followings to the actual pattern of a person's life — their character, their consistency between public teaching and private behavior, and the fruit produced in those they lead over time
   • It means any teaching that produces personal discomfort is likely false and should be rejected

6. Apply

   Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with the sobering picture of a house that fell with a great crash because it was built on sand — hearing without doing. Where in your life are you currently hearing Jesus' words but not yet doing them?

   • This question is not applicable because genuine Christians automatically obey everything they hear
   • Areas of self-deception are precisely where hearing without doing is most common — this question demands honest identification of a specific teaching of Jesus that you know, agree with intellectually, and yet consistently fail to act on, because that gap is the sand beneath your house
   • The question only applies to new believers who have not yet learned enough of the Bible to act on it fully
   • Since all Christians sin, the gap between hearing and doing is inevitable and does not indicate a structural problem with one's faith

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